Don't Speak Ill of the Dead Chapter 25
by BlackBear53
Summary: Motsie of Atlantis left us this story unfinished. I have the final two chapters and am posting them because the story needs to be shared with the world. I put this in front of the facebook family and was told this would be alright. I have not edited it and have left it just as he wanted it to be. Here's to Motsie. He promised he'd have the characters home by curfew.
1. Chapter 1

**Third Last Chapter**

 **Office of Special Projects, Los Angeles**

Deeks tried his best to help Kensi get back to normal after they returned. She spent the first two weeks in the hospital, getting her body to heal. Whenever the detective or any member of the team would come by to visit, they would always find her asleep, whether real or feigned, they couldn't tell. She apparently didn't want to see anyone, but most especially him.

After her discharge, she spent the next three weeks in physical therapy, trying to find out how much her body was still capable of doing. She still favored some of her muscles that had been deeply injured, and her endurance had to be built back up. But she was constantly pushing her limits, trying to get back to going out with the team, no matter what further risk of injury she faced.

Dr. Nate Getaz met with her daily, to try to help her heal the damage her mind endured because of the torture. There were a lot of issues that she was going to have to deal with, and most of them were things she would sooner wall off in the back of her mind and forget about. Soon physical therapy declared her fit for modified desk duty, but Nate did not clear her on her psychological evaluation. She came into work, reluctantly did all her waiting paperwork, and then sat, twiddling her thumbs.

Things appeared to get worse when Eric called them up fo their first case since her return. After being briefed up in Ops, Callen divided the work among the agents. Both Deeks and Nell were surprised to find out the two of them were to again be partnered in the field, and Kensi was ordered to help Eric run surveillance up in the tech center. Deeks raised one questioning eyebrow at Nell, who was looking at Kensi with a sorrowful look on her face.

Kensi asked Eric what he wanted her to do. He had her watching cameras, trying to spot their subjects and give them some idea of where they were. The young woman found this task extremely boring, and began tapping her fingers on the table as she watched the scenes flash before her. Eric yelled at her three times, before he finally got up and gently put his hand over hers.

"Kensi?" he said to her.

She looked at him in shock, while he snatched his hand away, not knowing how she would react. Kensi shook her head, trying to get her mind back on track. "I'm sorry, Eric, you were saying something to me? I guess my mind was somewhere else."

"I just wanted to ask you not to tap your fingers. The noise is a little disturbing and throws my typing off."

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again," she promised. But five minutes later, she was doing it again.

It finally got too much for Eric to take. He went down and complained to Hetty, wondering if she could do her work on the small plasma downstairs where she would not bother him. Hetty agreed with this, but also made a mental note to tell Nate. Perhaps the good doctor could find out what was bothering the agent.

 **South Bureau Police Building, Los Angeles**

A few days later, Lieutenant Bates wanted Deeks to go undercover again and the detective headed toward the precinct. When he got there he was immediately called into the Lieutenant's office.

"Deeks, we have another group out there that are looking to purchase some military grade weapons. With your tie in to NCIS, we felt that you would be the perfect one to go undercover and try to get the goods on them. I found a new handler for you, Detective Karrie Nichols, someone whom you haven't pissed off yet. I want you to make nice with her, and get the job done."

"I will try," Deeks answered. "When do we start?"

"Immediately," Bates declared, as he got up and stuck his head out the door. "Nichols, get in here," he commanded.

As the Lieutenant went back and sat behind his desk, Deeks heard the footsteps of a woman approach his office. When he turned around to watch her enter the room, his heart stopped. His jaw dropped and he tried to speak, but no words came out.

Was he seeing a ghost? It couldn't be her. The woman standing in front of him had the same lovely look. She was the same height, with olive toned skin and dark brown hair. Even her eyes were the same color that Jess used to have. She could have been Jess Traynor's twin sister.

Deeks shook his head to clear his mind and finally found his voice. "Detective Nichols, is it? No disrespect to you, but I am sorry that I cannot work with you."

Bates jumped out of his chair. "And what's wrong with her that you can't work with her?"

Deeks looked at him and said, "Just look at her. She is the spitting image of Jess Traynor. Working with her would bring back too many memories. I'm just afraid that my mind would be flipping from Jess to her. With how serious this operation could be, something like that could easily compromise the operation."

Bates thought about it for a moment, then looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, Kerry, but Deeks is right. You look a lot like one of his old handlers, and she died on that mission. We will have to find a different handler for Deeks. You're dismissed."

"Yes, sir," she said, as she turned and left the office.

Bates then turned toward Deeks and told him, "Damn it, Deeks. You always find ways to screw up my plans. Now I'll put in a call for another handler. Maybe you can ask your other boss if she can see any way I can transfer the case to her and be done with it and you."

"I'll ask, but I won't guarantee anything."

"Get out of here."

 **Office of Special Projects, Los Angeles**

Deeks went back to the Mission and went to Hetty's office to discuss it with her. She agreed to look into it and immediately asked the wonder twins if they could find any reason to link this group with the military or with terrorists.

Deeks went back to the bullpen and joined the agents there in their favorite pastime, paperwork. When Sam asked him why he was not on his undercover mission already, Deeks told him what had gone on in Bates' office.

When he was done, Kensi just looked at him and made the comment, "So what if she reminded you of Jess. It's not as if you were in love with her or anything."

But he had been, and he never stopped loving her even after she was killed. He mumbled something to them and lost himself in his paperwork.

But he couldn't get Kensi's words out of his mind. Maybe it was time for him to leave NCIS and move on. Everything that he might possibly have had romantically going with Kensi died with that careless remark she made about Jess. There still was way too much here to remind him of the woman he loved so dearly.

If he stayed here, there would be so great a temptation for him to join her. He should have died with her so long ago. Maybe, if he stayed around here that would be the way it would work out for him. He could die and be with Jess forever. It would be so easy, suicide by crook.

 **. . . . .**

The longer that Nate did not pass Kensi on her psych evaluation, the more Nell was teamed up with Deeks and sent out in the field, The more that Kensi saw Nell take her place with Deeks, the more snippy Kensi seemed to get with the analyst.

Nell finally came to talk to her. "Kens, you know how much I want to be a field agent. But I don't want to make it this way, taking your place on the team. You are a fantastic agent, and you will show that again to everyone, as soon as you are cleared again for duty. There is no way that I could even think that I could replace you."

"I know that in my head, but it is so hard to watch you walk off with my partner and know that I should be there in place of you," the older woman replied.

"I'm not trying to take your partner either, girl. It's just how Hetty and Callen have paired us up. Deeks is a great guy, and he has taught me a lot, but there is no, repeat no, romantic chemistry between the two of us. While you were in Afghanistan, he was partnered with Talia del Compo in addition to me. Everyone thought that there were no sparks between him and any of us gals because they thought he was carrying the torch for you. But all the gossip and office innuendo thought the same thing about Eric and me, and they are just wrong there. I just know he looks at me just as a partner, not a woman. It would have been fantastic if I had a claim on his heart, because he is one of the kindest, sweetest, bravest, most romantic man that I know.

 _Who is she talking about?_ Kensi wondered. _This doesn't sound at all like Deeks._

"But it is not me, and I know Deeks has strong feelings for another woman. He has talked a lot with me on the times when we have been alone together on stakeouts while you were gone."

"Deeks talked to you about this? Kensi asked surprised

"He and I had a lot of long conversations. He has become the big brother that I never had. I feel that I can come and talk to him about anything and get an honest opinion from him on what I should do. He doesn't look at me only as the geek up in Ops who always has to be right. He allows me to make mistakes, but never judges me for them. Instead, he shows me where I went wrong, and helps me make better decisions the next time."

Kensi was absolutely surprised. This was a Deeks she had never seen. And none of this could be blamed on Afghanistan, because he was teamed up with Nell while she was over there. Had she been underestimating him all these years, or was he just showing her one of his aliases that he could put on so easily? And who was this 'other woman' of whom Nell was speaking? Was it Jess? Someone else from his past or police life? It couldn't be her, could it?"

"How did you get Deeks to open up to you like that?"

"I just listened to what he had to say."

"I listen to him all the time. God knows, after all these years of having him as my partner, I've probably listened to him more than anyone else here."

"Are you sure, Kensi?" the little redhead asked icily. "Are you sure you were listening to what Deeks had to say, and not just what you wanted him to say?" And with that, Nell went upstairs to Ops.

 **. . . . .**

Almost a week later, things appeared to have returned to normal. Kensi had gone on her first operation since Nate had fully cleared her for field work. Deeks and Kensi were finishing up their paperwork, when the detective looked up at his partner and asked, "Are you hungry? I'm buying.

Kensi held up one finger, finished typing the last of her report and turned off her computer. She looked at Deeks and told him, "I could eat. What do you have in mind?"

"How about tacos?"

"Okay, I can do tacos. Let me go home and take a shower, change my clothes, and you can pick me up in an hour."

"You don't need to do all that."

"Deeks, I feel grody and I wanna get out of these clothes. I've worn them all day. Just pick me up in an hour."

The detective knew not to argue with her. "I'll be at your place in an hour," he said to her back as she was halfway out the door.

An hour later Deeks knocked at her door and was surprised to see her, dressed in low heels, an extremely chic dress, hair all down and wavy, and face perfectly made up. He was totally taken by surprise by how nice she was dressed.

"Ah, Kens," he asks with wonder in his voice. "Aren't you a little bit overdressed to go out and get tacos?"

"Deeks, the last time you sprang for tacos, we ended up in a very fancy restaurant."

"Au contrair, mon fere, last time we went out for tacos, we ended up at my house with pizza and beer, and spent the whole night talking about us."

"Is that what you want to do now, talk about us?"

"I think we're gonna have to, considering everything that has gone on in the past few months."


	2. Chapter 2

**Marty Deeks has to work out his relationships with his partners. One is the love of his life, but she is no longer available to him. The other has always been there, but can he love her enough?**

 **Disclaimer:** The characters and sets of NCIS: LA are all owned by CBS, Donald P. Bellisario, and Shane Brennan. I only own a copy of the DVDs from season 1-6. I do get to play with everyone, but they all have to be home by curfew.

 **A/N:** I have been informed that as long as I post chapters - even at a very irregular schedule - I am not hiatusing - a word that Deeks taught me - therefore, all of my stories will be posted on a very irregular schedule until further notice. I still need to have some medical procedures taken care of. Until they have been completed I have been told to spend limited time on the computer. I have no clue when the whole process may be done, or what I will have to go through to help work things out. Until that time, I will post when I am able. When things have been successfully completed, and I am healed, I will again continue to post new chapters regularly. I am sorry if this disappoints people, but I have to take care of me so I can continue to write.

 **South Bureau Police Building, Los Angeles**

Lieutenant Bates called out the names of a dozen detectives, Deeks included, and told them to assemble in the conference room. When they all came in and sat down, he explained to them that there was a drug bust on this evening. All of them, along with detectives from the drug enforcement unit, would be involved. The place that they were hitting was a very large old building in the warehouse district, and they needed all this manpower to make sure the building was cleared and none of the drug runners would get away. None of the police knew what type of weapons they would be facing, or if their opponents would surrender to them or if they would try to protect their drugs and shoot it out. For that reason, everyone would suit up in tactical gear before going on the mission.

Deeks didn't like the tactical gear that was provided by the LAPD. It always felt way too stiff to him. Maybe that was the case because he didn't use it that often. Most of the times when he had to gear up, the letters NCIS were displayed across his chest. Both were made by the same company, both were the same size, but his NCIS gear felt more comfortable to him, more like a well-worn coat, and not a set of armor.

 **Warehouse District, Los Angeles**

All of the detectives had taken up their positions outside of the boarded-up warehouse. Deeks and two other detectives were at a small door in the back of the building. When the order was given, they burst in through the door and started clearing out the areas in front of them.

Maybe it was because he was so used to Kensi working with him to clear the areas instead of the detectives, but Deeks became separated from his team. He called for them to form up with him, but evidently they did not know where he was. He peeked out from behind a large piece of machinery that was bolted to the floor, and was immediately rewarded with a bullet whizzing past his head. There were at least three shooters in different spots, and their crossfire had the detective pinned down. He pushed himself further away from their line of fire and found his hand covered with rust from the big machine.

He cursed to himself before he got on his com again and called for backup. Just as he finished, he felt an intense pain in his abdomen, and saw that there was blood coming out from under his vest. The shock of the wound caused him to slump down to the ground. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he reported in that he was hit. A few minutes later there was a flurry of gunfire, then everything became silent. The three men who had him pinned down all ended up dead or captured.

Hetty didn't trust Bates to have the best interest of her detective at heart and had a gut instinct that things could quickly go wrong. She had ordered Eric to hack into the police communications system to see if they could keep tabs on Deeks. When she heard that Deeks had been shot, she put in a call to the EMT dispatcher trying to find out to what hospital they would take him. The little ninja was told that it would probably be Good Samaritan, because it apparently was the closest. She asked that they inform her of Deeks' injuries before they rushed him away to any hospital.

Her fears were well founded. The EMTs got to the detective and took off his tactical gear to allow them to assess the damage done to his body. They confirmed that the bullet entered his abdomen just under the area his vest had protected. Getting him onto a gurney, they rushed him out of the building toward the waiting ambulance.

The EMT dispatcher called Hetty back and told her what his crew had found when they examined Deeks. As soon as she heard that it was an abdominal wound, Hetty ordered them to stop trying to get him to the hospital by ambulance. She already had Eric on the phone with the UCLA med center, whose chopper would be there in ten minutes to fly him back to the advanced trauma center there.

 **UCLA Med Center**

The helicopter landed on the roof and the trauma team immediately took over, rushing the detective into surgery. Hetty had Eric inform the rest of the team. Since she was still listed as Deeks' next-of-kin, she knew that there would be paperwork that she would have to fill out for him, so she just got into her car and headed for the medical center.

Two and a half hours later the operations manager and the three other team members were sitting in the surgical waiting area, still not hearing anything about how the detective was doing. Eric had been sent home so he could finally get some sleep, but they promised him a phone call as soon as they found anything out. Nell was sitting up in Ops, holding down the fort, and nervously awaiting the news.

Finally, the doors to the surgical area opened up and a very tired looking doctor came out and asked, "Family of Martin Deeks?"

Hetty got up out of her chair, and went over toward him. "How is he doing, doctor?"

"I am Dr. Anish Uppal, trauma surgeon. The surgery is over and he has been moved to intensive care recovery. He will probably remain there for the next six hours, drifting in and out of consciousness. Right now it is touch and go." the doctor replied.

Hetty's face went ashen at his words. "But why? The wound did not sound life threatening when the EMTs described it."

"Right now I am not worried about his life. His vital signs are very good. What I am worried about is him possibly losing his kidney."

"His kidney?" Hetty exclaimed. "Why would his kidney be injured? That is one of the areas that his tactical vest should have covered and kept him protected there."

"The bullet entered his body at an ascending angle, perforated his intestine in three separate places, and finally lodged itself in his right kidney. We managed to remove the bullet and repair the damage to intestine and kidney, but I am extremely worried about the infection that is already in his system down there because of the nature of the wound. He could respond to the antibiotics that we are flooding him with right now and things could go well as he heals completely. That is the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is that he could develop sepsis from the infection, lose his kidney and maybe his life."

Callen asked him, "It was that bad?"

Dr. Uppal looked at him and said, "Mr. Deeks was extremely lucky to get here when he did. If we would have started on him, even ten minutes later, we would have considered the kidney compromised and just removed it. He still may lose it in the long run, but at least we were given a chance to save it."

Kensi was shaking her head. "I still don't understand," she exclaimed. "How could his kidney be damaged if it was protected by his vest?"

"It couldn't have been a straight shot, because the vest would have protected him. I wonder if the bullet hit something else first, then ricocheted to hit Deeks? I can't see any other explanation, unless the shooter was on the ground," Sam tried to explain.

"That would make sense," Dr. Uppal added. "The nurse that prepared him for surgery mentioned a rust-like substance that was visible around the entry hole in his clothes. It must have slowed down the bullet somewhat, since it was lodged there only about two centimeters deep. If it would have been a straight shot, it would have gone completely through the kidney. Damage like that is almost impossible to repair. But even with that, the bullet picked up fecal material from his intestines and deposited it into his kidney. That is why he is getting large doses of antibiotics to fight off the infection that already there. Now, if you have no more questions for me, I will get back to my patients."

"Thank you, doctor," they all said as he turned and walked back into the surgical area.

Hetty turned toward her agents and told them to go home and get some sleep. She didn't want to see them in the office until 1:00 PM the next day. She then called Eric and filled him in with all that they knew about the detective's condition. Then she called Nell back in Ops and gave her the same information. Hetty also told Nell to turn everything over to Kirstin Chambers, and then go home and not return until agents came back the next day. Checking to make sure that there was nothing more that she could do at the hospital, she left orders that when Deeks was moved from intensive care recovery, he was to be given a private room, and she was to be notified immediately. As she turned to go home herself, a feeling of hostility and sorrow filled her because of what had happened to one of 'her children'.

 **Office of Special Projects, Los Angeles**

As soon as it was possible the next morning, the operations manager put in a call to Lieutenant Bates, trying to find out the reason Deeks was shot.

He answered the phone on the third ring. "Bates."

"Lieutenant Bates, this is Henrietta Lange," she said sweetly.

 _What does the dragon lady want with me now,_ he thought to himself. "How may I help you this morning?" the Lieutenant asked.

"It's about our liaison, he got shot on the drug takedown last night," she answered.

 _How does she know these things? I wonder if I have someone in the squad that is leaking information to her._ "The last I heard about him, he was being taken to the hospital by helicopter rather than the ambulance that was called for him. I think they took him to the UCLA med center, but I'm not sure. I tried to find out his condition there, but they wouldn't even admit that he was a patient there."

"That's because I have put a freeze on information concerning him. There are too many people who would like to see him dead, and with him in the hospital, he became an easy target. That's why Detective Deeks is not there, but Nathan Meyers is."

"Okay, I will admit that Deeks has made some enemies..."

"We will protect him from his enemies. Can you tell me how it happened?"

"From the reports of the two others he was teamed up with, they broke in their assigned door and started clearing the area, searching for the drug dealers. They said he went off on his own, not waiting for them to work with him. He came across a few of the drug dealers and got involved in a shootout. By the time the shooters were taken care of, they found Deeks slumped to the ground, with a bullet in his gut. They called for an ambulance, and waited until the paramedics arrived."

"I see," was the only thing that Hetty said.

"Do you know anything more about it that I should know about?" he asked defensively.

"Not yet," she answered. "But I thank you for the information you provided. If I come across any more information that you need to know, I will inform you. Otherwise, good morning, Lieutenant."

Bates just sat there looking at his phone, before he hung it up. He ran his hand through his hair and wondered, _What the hell was that all about?_

 **. . . . .**

When the agents came in that afternoon, Hetty sent Callen and Sam to the warehouse where Deeks was injured to see if they could find out anything more about the shooting. The wonder twins were asked to hack the LAPD files and find out who the two detectives that worked with Deeks the night before, and if there was any reason why they allowed him to get shot. Kensi was sent to the hospital to wait for Deeks to regain consciousness and see if he could give them a statement.

 **UCLA Med Center**

Kensi knocked on his door, but didn't get an answer. She went into his room and was shocked at what she saw. He was still asleep, but it didn't look like the carefree, restful sleep that he showed when he fell asleep at her place when they were too tired to continue watching a movie. This face showed pain and fear.

He was laying flat on his back, a position he appeared not to enjoy. An IV infusion tree was over on the right side of the bed, near his head. Three infusion pumps were fastened to it, each one forcing something vital into his body as they clicked away. Kensi tried to read the labels on the bags of liquid that were hung there. She saw one bag labeled tobramycin, and remembered enough from her first aid classes to recognize that all 'mycin' products were strong antibiotics.

The second bag was just a normal saline solution. This was necessary to replace all the fluids his body lost during the operation, and to keep him hydrated. That it was working could be seen in the partially filled urine collection bag at the side of his bed. Kensi smiled and thought to herself _I wonder how well he is going to like having that catheter down there and how soon he demands that it be pulled?_

The third bag was labeled kayexalate, something that Kensi did not recognize. She made a mental note to ask the nurse when she came in what it was for.

The sheet was propped up over Deeks' abdomen by some sort of frame, keeping it off of his body. It was as if the slightest weight of the sheet would cause him pain and impede the healing process.

Kensi sat down in the chair on the other side of his bed to wait for him to wake up. The steady beeping of the IV pumps and his heart monitor were like a metronome, slowly lulling her to sleep. She was startled to wake up to see a nurse slowly infusing something into a port in one of his IV lines.

"Nurse," she asked. "Can you tell me what you are giving him and why he needs it?"

"I don't know if I can give you that information," the nurse said.

"I'm Agent Kensi Blye and this man is my partner. If you ask your supervisor to contact Henrietta Lange, you will receive full authorization for me to be updated on his condition."

The nurse said nothing, but finished her work and logged it into the computer before she left the room.

Five minutes later the nurse came back. "I was giving Mr. Meyers some calcium gluconate. That along with the kayexalate are helping to control the electrolyte balance in his body. This will help him fight the infection and speed the healing process."

"I thought that he would be awake by now."

"We had to further sedate him. He woke up and tried to pull out his catheter and IV line, vowing that he would just go home and sleep in his own bed. He should be waking up in the next half hour to hour. If you could be here and convince him to let us take care of him, we would greatly appreciate it."

"I can try to do that," Kensi vowed.

 **. . . . .**

A little over an hour Deeks woke up. Kensi explained to him that he was in the hospital and needed to stop trying to get out of bed. All of his doctors would be in to explain everything to him and help him work out a plan for him to heal up enough to leave the hospital.

When she asked him for his statement, all he could tell her was much the same as they had already known. He got separated from his team and was hiding behind a large piece of machinery. One of the three gunmen that he was facing hit him and he slumped to the ground. The next thing he remembered was being loaded on a gurney to be taken to the hospital.

Kensi called Eric and passed on Deeks' statement. Hetty gave the agent the option of coming in to do paperwork or staying with her partner. For Kensi, it was not a hard choice to make. Even though her partner was obnoxious and complaining all the time, he was easier to endure than the stacks of paper that were waiting for her at her desk.

 **Warehouse District, Los Angeles**

Sam and Callen had found the door that Deeks and his team had used to enter the warehouse. They followed his path until they came to the room with the big piece of machinery in it. When they examined it, they found the spot where the bullet hit and left a shiny spot. It did ricochet off the old metal and take a different, upward trajectory. Deeks was not targeted; it was just a freak accident. They reported this to Hetty before they headed back to the mission.

 **UCLA Med Center**

Three days later, Kensi was again visiting her partner, and she could attest that he was on the way to recovery. From the moment she came in the door he was complaining about how close to his "package" the bullet came. "It would certainly deprive the world if he could not do his duty and make sure there were little Deekses to continue the blood line after he was gone."

Just as he mentioned his 'bloodline', a hospital tech came into his room to draw blood for a full renal panel. This was done daily to find out how well his kidneys were working and if the right one was starting to shut down. Deeks was not happy with this either, and had his head turned away. When the tech was done, Kensi tried to talk with her partner, but found that he had passed out. He tried to claim that he had just fallen back asleep, but the truth was that he was just afraid of needles.

After lunch, Dr. Tamara Lakats, his nephrologist, came in to give him the results of his bloodwork. She told him that he could lose the catheter and they were going to cut back on some of his medications. But she also warned him that he was not out of the woods yet. He would have to listen to what they wanted him to do and take all of his medications because there still was a chance that his kidney could fail.

When he heard those words, a look of concern came over his face. He had found out that he could not be any type of federal agent and go out into the field if his kidney were to shut down and had to be removed. He could work from behind a desk in any of those agencies, but that was not what the blond haired man was looking for.

 **Deeks' Apartment, Long Beach**

Deeks thought about his hospital stay once he got home and compared the two agencies for whom he worked. Someone from his NCIS team was in to visit him at least every other day. But all the time he was hospitalized, he only received one phone call from Bates, and that was wondering when he would be able to get back to work.

The incompetence and ingratitude that he had to put up with at the LAPD finally reached its peak. The detective would no longer put up with it. It had almost gotten him killed, or at the very least, almost caused him to lose one of his body parts. He was through. He put in a call to Hetty and announced that he was now ready to become a federal agent. After he came back from FLECT he would sign the papers to take on his new role. Hetty agreed to do it as soon as he was declared medically fit to work. She would look at the list of classes and set him up with the ones he needed to finish off what he had learned from the team.


End file.
